Ah Fluff
by mystic legacy
Summary: Just a small epilogue that I felt needed to be in the book. Enjoy!


little a/u before I start:I don't have the book, so I'm not quite sure if its  
  
Nathan or Nathaniel, if I screwed up I am eternally sorry, and you can have my  
  
flying midget of doom, Mrs. Anderson.  
  
This Is Our Time  
  
discription: a bunch of fluff about Mattie and Nathaniel, I love romance novels,  
  
and I'm not afraid to admit it, I'm just terrible at writing them!  
  
Four weeks have passed by since the first frost, and mother's homecoming.She is  
  
well, but still needs a long nap during the day. She tries to hold off until the  
  
lunch hour customers are gone, but she rarely does. I was at the market, making  
  
my way home when a pair of hands carefully snuck around my waist and snatched an  
  
apple out of my basket. I smiled, not needing to turn to know who it was. For  
  
some reason, I leaned back against the medium frame of Nathaniel, content as  
  
ever. He wasn't expecting that, but he did not pull away. I could feel him smile  
  
behind me, feel him move so that our bodiess would conform more easily. Ever  
  
since mother came back, and he began to be paid for his work from master Peale,  
  
we had become so very close. Talking almost every other hour, hugging in public,  
  
and being so close to each other. What we were doing now was concidered quite  
  
inapropriate, but all the stand owners, and most of my mother's friends knew I  
  
had a good head, and that Nathaniel had honor.  
  
"Mattie?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"is there something wrong love?"I turned to him, shocked by his words. Love. He  
  
had called me love? What made him so brash? I thought for a fleeting moment that  
  
he was joking, but then, I only saw the kindness in his eyes. No teasing, no  
  
mocking. Only pure and loving kindness. I don't know what made me do what I did  
  
next, I don't know if it was the stress of everything: running the coffee shop  
  
now that Eliza's married, taking care of Nell, My grandfather dead, mother being  
  
so sick, and I having a god-awful cold, but I placed my arms around his neck,  
  
and leaned into him, tears slowly welling up. He was taken aback and leaned back  
  
slightly.Then, he softened and wrapped his arms around me, taking my basket and  
  
setting it next to us. He pulled me to the side of the street, between two  
  
houses, and unlatched my arms from his neck.  
  
"What's wrong Mattie?" he asked and brushed his hand against my cheek. I stared  
  
up at him with tear stained eyes.  
  
"I'm just so exhausted, so terribly exhausted.Mother needs attending and so does  
  
Nell, and I'm running the coffee shop with only one other helper, and she's just  
  
the cook. I have to take care of the spills and services. Why did Eliza have to  
  
leave? Then, Gradfather isn't here to help or take care of me. Everything is so  
  
terribly muddled."I felt like such a baby crying to him like this.  
  
"oh, Mattie." he sighed and hugged me close. The German egg sellers smiled at  
  
each other, as they gazed upon us. Finally we broke, and I wiped the tears from  
  
my eyes with his hankerchief. He pulled something from his pocket and pressed it  
  
into my palm. I glanced down at it. It was a small painting of lilies on a  
  
cameo, hung on a thin leather cord.  
  
"An early christmas present" he explained as I gazed apon it. The lillies were  
  
expertly painted and etched, and the leather on the cord was so soft it could be  
  
mistaken for cotton.We smiled as he tied it onto my neck. It hung delicately  
  
across my upper chest(get your MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTERS PEOPLE,NOT THAT LOW).  
  
"I always promised I'd bring you everlasting flowers Mattie." I laughed and  
  
picked up my basket as we made our way back into the streets. He took my hand  
  
and held it throughout the entire trip through the market. As I stood examining  
  
winter cabbages, I heard two elderly ladies wispering.  
  
"that's the Cook child. then the others Nathaniel Bension."  
  
"Such a lovely couple"  
  
"indeed, a match made by god no less"  
  
I stopped from poking a rather aweful looking cabbage, and stood up straight,  
  
contemplating. DID I want to marry Nathaniel?  
  
of course not, he's a painter, not even!  
  
he's been you're best friend for years!  
  
your mother would not approve.  
  
The words swarmed around me like flys around hunny (HOW DO YOU SPELL HONEY!??...  
  
oh.... heh heh...) However, they soon floated away. All I could think about was  
  
how I would love to kiss Nathaniel Bension....  
  
Nathaniel was tapping me on my shoulder and calling my name "Mattie? Mattie?"  
  
"Yes? What, I'm fine" I scrambled to say, then picked out a cabbage half  
  
hazardly.I tossed some coins at the market... er and began to walk back to my  
  
house. Mother would be sleeping by now. So would Nell. Nathaniel did not hold my  
  
hand on the way back, but he did walk rather close to me as we made our way  
  
along the Ice caked streets. The streets by the market had so many feet on it,  
  
it had turned to slush. However, here, 4 blocks away from the market the ice had  
  
not melted, and it was slippery ,and thick. Nathaniel did not stray far from my  
  
shoulder during our entire trip, which took more that a quarter of an hour, for  
  
there was much ice, and it was slow going. I almost slipped many times, but  
  
Nathaniel was always there to steady me. Darn him, but he was so surefooted and  
  
careful, he did not slip once. He offered to carry my basket for I had dropped a  
  
few turnips once when I had slipped. I politely delcined.  
  
We were only half a block from my house when I almost slipped again, throwing  
  
the fresh loaf of bread from my basket. I sighed, then kneeled carefully to pick  
  
it up.Nathaniel had stopped for me, but was urgeing me to hurry, he was frozen  
  
to the bone. I grumbled something unladylike, then begun to stand up. Suddenly,  
  
a strong gust of wind got me when I was unbalanced and toppled me over,  
  
revealing my bloomers, and spilling everything but the eggs out onto the ice.  
  
Nathaniel scurried to pick everything up, whilst I tried to retain some of my  
  
dignity. I stood up, and picked up my basket, praying that my eggs were not  
  
damaged. He was just picking up a scraggly preserved lemon, when I heard a  
  
THUMP and I was knocked from my feet. I screeched, and fell on Nathaniel,  
  
clutching the eggs and pastries to my chest.ONe of the pastries broke on my  
  
face, and I was covered in rasberry jam and crossaint. Nathaniel was laughing at  
  
me as he stared up at me from under my basket. I just realized the suggestive  
  
position we were in and promptly got off of him, blushing. He looked perturbed  
  
that I had removed my self from him, but broke out into laughter asI tried to  
  
stand up again, but promptly fell. I felt strong arms pulling me out of the  
  
snow, and a soft mitten wiping snow and rasberry pastry off of my cheek.  
  
"You look like a snow beast." he chuckled.  
  
"and you look like a snow-farmer" I retorted BADLY. he smiled out of good grace,  
  
and placed the bounty in my basket.  
  
"Let's go the rest of the way on our knees, that way, we won't have to fall so  
  
great of a distance."I nodded, for I was too sore, and too tired to say  
  
anything.  
  
"Mattie say something" he pleaded, as we began out crawl down the street, each  
  
of us carrying one side of the basket.  
  
"I think I broke my jaw"  
  
He laughed hard and smiled, slightly evily.  
  
"then let me kiss it better." I was so taken aback by his words, that I didn't  
  
respond, nor bash him away when he placed his lips apon mine. Nor, after he had  
  
pulled back, did I do anything.I stood there, and stared ,barely breathing.  
  
Nathaniel smiled and snapped his fingers infront of my face.  
  
"Wake up girl, we have to drag this basket back to your house, and I'm not  
  
carrying you both." that woke me up.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME ANYTHING BUT MY NAME! WHAT A SIGn OF DISRE..." he was  
  
laughing at me, guaffing even. I was shocked, but kept walking.  
  
"Mattie, you'r e the most wonderful girl I know." he said between gasps of  
  
laughter. I was startled ONCE AGAIN.  
  
and suddenly ,furious.  
  
"Nathaniel Bension, if you say those things to any other girl, I will hunt you  
  
down and skewer just like my Grandfather did to those brits!" He sobered up  
  
pretty fast, then looked at me as we kept on walking.  
  
"A man only says those things to the woman he intends to marry Mattie".  
  
I stopped, intends to marry?  
  
"Yes, Mattie. When we're older. I will ask you to marry me."  
  
I threw my arms around him and kissed him square on the lips.  
  
"Nathaniel Bension, I would marry you any time of any day. EVER."  
  
" I... love you Mattie."  
  
I just smiled.  
  
THEN END OR IS IT??? 


End file.
